The Tyrant's Pet

London Leviticus let out a deep exhale, supporting his head. His fingers zeroing on his temple, having this slight headache at those two who were acting like boys in puberty, fighting over their crush. Although London couldn't deny that this issue was far more complicated than on the surface.

'What a headache, indeed.' London snapped his eyes at the person sandwiched in this problem. 'Poor little Aries. The issue of the mainland shouldn't be her problem, but now she was the center of it.'

"Abel," Aries called, but this time, her voice didn't have a tinge of relief or softness. "Please, Your Majesty. Let's resolve this personal issue privately."

Abel blinked. "Sure."

"Thank you." Aries heaved a sigh of relief, assuming he would stop pressing Maximus's nerves so they could proceed with today's meeting. But she was wrong.

Just as Aries expressed her words of gratitude, Abel planted a hand on the surface of the table and hopped over it. The moment he stood beside her, Aries flinched, looking at him wide-eyed.

"Let's resolve it privately, darling." He flashed her a smile, wiggling his brows teasingly.

"Uh, Abel…?" Aries trailed off as he suddenly swept her off of her feet, carrying her in his arms as if she weighed nothing. Her eyes shook, clutching his chest with instinct. She held her breath, stunned, gazing up at him only to see his mischievous grin.

"Have you been eating, my love?" he asked playfully, ignoring the shocked gazes cast upon him. "It seemed you lost a lot of weight. I guess they weren't feeding you a lot, huh?"

"Put me down," she blurted out as her face turned red in embarrassment. She didn't even know why she suddenly felt embarrassed; an old feeling she hadn't felt for the last two years.

"Huh? Are you going back on your words now, darling?" he scoffed before shaking his head, smirking deviously, and raising his gaze up at them. "Her Majesty and I will resolve our issue privately. So if you may excuse us."

"Wait —" London's face contorted, watching Abel turn his back on them. The latter didn't even take a step, but instead leaped toward the open window.

The windows in this newly established palace were quite big, so anyone from inside could enjoy the scenery it was surrounded by. Who would have thought someone would think of using it as a way to abduct someone?

"That impertinent…" Maximus's voice shook in anger, springing up from his seat as he fixed his eyes on the open window. Through his gritted teeth, his voice thundered, "follow them!"

Maximus didn't idle inside the conference hall, storming out of this so-called sacred place to follow Abel. No one stopped him as he walked away; no one would dare as their survival instinct told them to just stay still.

"Ahh… surely, he is the most mischievous of all…" London shook her head in resignment, snapping his eyes as Maximus walked past him. Another sigh slipped past London's lips, facing everyone left in the conference hall.

"Well." He cleared her throat and flashed them all a sweet smile. "Since the troublemakers were out to play, should the diligent ones continue the summit peacefully now?"

Everyone slowly shifted their eyes full of disbelief back to London, wondering if they heard her correctly. The latter offered them a shrug, feigning innocence with that bright smile plastered on her face.

*

*

*

Aries bounced slightly on the mattress where Abel suddenly threw her on. She propped her elbows against the mattress, lifting her head, searching for him with wide eyes. There, beside the bed, stood Abel, unbuttoning his dirty blouse in irritation.

"Fiancee? He surely learned how to provoke me," he complained, stopping from his actions as he quirked a brow. His eyes fell on her on the bed. "Yes?"

Aries's lips opened and closed, but her voice was stuck in her throat. She had many things to say, but all she could do for a moment was stare at him in shock.

Just a moment ago, they were inside the conference hall where the summit was held. But now, they were inside a bedroom. She didn't even have the leisure to react as he flew so fast, forcing her to hold on to him. But now that she got a grasp of what happened and the situation, her mind couldn't help but crawl to her wild imagination.

"Bed?" was the first word that came out of her lips.

"Huh?"

"You want to do it as soon as possible?" she blurted out, having these mixed emotions which weren't all pleasant at that.

Deep lines appeared in between his brows before his lips curled up into an amused smirk.

"What do you mean to do it as soon as possible, darling?" he cocked his head to the side, pretending to not know what she meant. "I brought you here because it's the closest room to where we came from, and the balcony was open."

Her face turned red, pushing herself to sit up. "Abel, this is not the time to play around."

"But I'm not playing around." Abel bent over, planting his hands on the surface of the mattress to look at her at eye level. "This is the first room that is nearest, and I want you to rest your feet. It seemed those things you are wearing are painful."

He jerked his chin toward her ankle, making her set her eyes on it. The moment her gaze landed on her ankle, she pursed her lips, noticing the redness on her ankle caused by her heels. As realization dawned on her, she hung her head low to hide the slight embarrassment of her nasty assumptions.

"You're not wrong, though," he spoke after a minute, making her lift her head to see the solemness dominating his face. "All I can think of right now is ripping that dress and throwing everything on you from head to toe. I don't like the way he dressed you like a doll, darling."

Her breath hitched, holding his gaze but unable to say a word. The shock and all dilemmas that naturally followed her after he took her away from the summit gradually dissipated until all that mattered was the present.

"Then… will you take them off?"